The Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday harshly responded to claims by sources in the negotiations teams that Hamas initiated the decision to release six living hostages on Saturday. Earlier, sources from the negotiations claimed that "Hamas initiated the process in order to ensure that they would receive the compensation - release of terrorists and humanitarian aid - and did not want to risk the agreement blowing up." The Prime Minister's Office responded by stating, "This is a new peak of absurdity and reverberating Hamas propaganda. Already two weeks ago, the Prime Minister declared a goal of releasing the rest of the living hostages from the first stage in a single group instead of two [groups]." The understandings were reached as a result of the Prime Minister's firm stance and his instruction to increase the IDF forces around and within Gaza, as well as US President Trump's ultimatum. We would like to note that Hamas announced its refusal to release our hostages, and thus to violate the deal - and only Israel's determined position led to Hamas' backtracking." Related articles: 'It's harder than burying a child' 'Division in the nation gives strength to our enemies' 'No one forgets the hostages for even a moment' Hostage families file suit against Columbia protesters The clash between the Prime Minister's Office and sources in the negotiations teams began earlier on Wednesday, after a senior source familiar with the details of the negotiations gave a press briefing against Mossad chief Dadi Barnea and ISA chief Ronen Bar, saying that the change in the team's composition is what led to progress in negotiations with the Hamas terror group. According to the source, the agreement to release six living hostages on Saturday and four hostages' bodies on Thursday is the direct result of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to change the composition of the negotiations team. According to him, the change in the team caused a significant change in the attitude taken in the talks. "The new team changed the dynamics and led to a give-and-take instead of a give-and-give," the source said. The source stressed that the negotiations are being done quietly, while ensuring uniformity of messages and without the leaks which have harmed talks in the past: "He also ended the custom of regular briefings with an agenda against the Prime Minister and political echelon, which only caused Hamas to toughen its position and add demands." On Tuesday evening , the families of six hostages, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, Hisham Al-Sayed, and Avera Mengistu announced that their loved ones will be returned this coming Saturday. Tuesday night reports revealed that Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer has been appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to lead Israel's negotiations on the second phase of the hostage deal together with the US President's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff. So far, the talks have been led by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Mossad chief David Barnea. An Israeli source said that the release of the hostages is "an important achievement by Prime Minister Netanyahu, which was done in full coordination with the United States. The Prime Minister has once again managed to quicken the pace of the release and reach an agreement on the return of all the living hostages of phase one already this week, in addition to the return of the deceased hostages."
